Homebound Security Event Promotes Discussion of Exciting New Technologies

By Katherine Hubbard

On December 8, 2009 the Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project hosted a roundtable discussion for the release of the PCR Project’s latest report Homebound Security: Migrant Support for Improved Public Safety in Conflict-prone Settings.  The report focuses on innovative ways for migrants and diasporas, along with international partners, to improve public safety.  The roundtable discussion was focused more specifically on the topic of how technology platforms can be used to improve early warning and public safety in conflict zones. 

The panel members began by presenting their respective technology platforms and discussing their applicability to early warning and public safety.  Josh Nesbit, Ambassador for Frontline SMS, began by presenting his company’s technology – a free and open-source text-messaging platform that allows users to coordinate large amounts of incoming and outgoing text messages.  This technology has many possible applications for Non-Governmental Organizations and health care workers.  For example, it was used for election-monitoring in Nigeria in 2007 and it has also been used to send alerts to field-workers in Afghanistan. 

Patrick Meier is Director of Crisis Mapping and Strategic Partnerships at Ushahidi.  Ushahidi’s technology allows users to record human rights abuses via cell phone or internet.  This information is then put into Google Earth which allows viewers to see where reports are coming from.  Viewers can also compare the location of the reports by citizen journalists to the location of stories being reported on by the mainstream media.  While the mainstream media typically reports on violence after the fact, citizen journalists tend to report on rising tensions, meaning that the tool has the potential to be very useful for early response and prevention. 

Brad Hammell, Manager and Senior Engineer at Pitney Bowes, has been collaborating with Bug Labs, a company that manufactures modular, open-source systems for building devices, to create devices that are both innovative and secure.  By combining Pitney Bowes’ secure, tamper-proof technology with Bug Lab’s various modules, it is possible to create a device that could be used for evidence-gathering against human rights abusers.  For example, if they could create a device that included a GPS and a camera with tamper-proof technology, people could take pictures at the scene of a human rights abuse and these pictures could be uploaded along with the latitude and longitude and a time/date stamp and then safely be deleted from the camera, leaving behind no evidence.

Eric Gundersun, President of Development Seed, gave a presentation on a web application that was created for Afghanistan’s election.  The website was created out of necessity as election observers found it impossible to effectively utilize the thousands of pages of written data that were coming from polling sites.  This web application allows users to see the raw election data for each province.  It was created using Google Earth and data sites that were all open to the public.  Eric pointed out that the maps could be saved onto a USB drive, making the information totally portable, even without an internet connection.

The panel’s discussion of these new technologies provoked interesting questions from discussion participants.  One attendee pointed out that this technology could be used for either good or bad and wondered how it would be possible to raise the cost of using this technology for nefarious purposes.  Panelists replied that it is difficult to drive up the cost for the ‘bad guys,’ but it is possible to drive down costs for the ‘good guys’ by directing them to technology that makes it easy to disseminate mass texts at a low cost.  They also pointed out if people were to send out hateful texts or texts that incited violence, then the cell phone network could potentially identify the individuals and this could act as a deterrent.

A related question was on the subject of anonymity and the possibility of identifying the people sending the information.  Panelists replied that with the current technology it is possible to see the phone number, which can be useful if they need to write back for more information, but they are very interested in developing a secure phone that would encrypt all of the information because this could be very useful for digital activists.

Participants also discussed other possible applications for this technology.  One mentioned that there are many members of the Diaspora community of various countries who are interested in returning to their countries to serve, but have no idea where to go.  She suggested that the technology could be used to map schools, hospitals and other places in need of skilled workers.  She also mentioned, however, the need to embed this type of technology, since not all people, especially in rural areas, would have access to it.

There was also further discussion on how the technology platforms could be used to monitor elections.  The secure cameras could be used to record whether people were actually in line to vote or to verify that the ballots cast at the polling station are the same ballots that are counted.

This event showcased the many opportunities that technology could create for NGOs, health workers, and human rights workers around the globe.  It also gave participants the chance to share their ideas and concerns with the technology developers.  In the end, participants seemed to agree that these technology platforms represent exciting and innovative solutions for dealing with the important issues of early warning and public safety.

To listen to the full audio recording of the event click here.

Flickr photo by uncultured used under a Creative Commons license.